Converting VHS to DVD

There are several methods which work for converting VHS to DVD.

Converting VHS to DVD can actually be pretty tricky. In the worst case you can have dropped frames or mismatches of audio and video due to degradation of the synchronization signals. Fortunately many capture devices have input filters to clean up the signals and minimize dropped frames and audio/video sync issues. In the worst cases you may need to use an external TBC device like the popular TBC-1000.

DVD Recorders
At this moment I am a huge fan of using a stand alone DVD recorder to convert VHS to DVD. It can be a real time saver. A typical workflow capturing without a DVD recorder goes something like this:

As you can see to process a 2 hour VHS tape will take close to 6-8 hours worth of time. A DVD recorder can complete the task in just about real time. Some recorders also have temporal and grain noise filtering. The captured footage should look better than the original. If you want to create professional looking or custom menus you will need to import the DVD into your PC for re-authoring.

Internal Capture Cards
Internal capture cards use hardware based MPEG conversion. They do hardware encoding direct to MPEG-1 or MPEG-2. There are several manufacturers including ATI, Adaptec and Hauppauge.

My experience with these cards is limited. However the Hauppauge WinTV PVR 350 or PVR 250 seem to good choices.

External Capture Devices There are a number of choices for external capture devices. Most of the times these devices have hardware based encoding to convert directly to MPEG. The latest trend for MPEG based devices is to connect to your USB 2.0 port.

Devices like the Canopus ADVC-55 convert the video to AVI and connect to your PC via Firewire.

DV camera pass-thru
The other solution is to use the pass-thru feature of a DV camera. DV cameras with this feature allow you to hook up older analog devices to your camera’s RCA inputs. The camera will then convert the signal to DV and pass it through the Firewire cable to your PC.

I use this method all the time. My camera is the Canon ZR-60 but there are others that have a pass-thru feature. Here’s a brief list of Dv cameras with pass-thru.

8 Comments »

  1. Geo said,

    July 30, 2007 @ 11:24 pm

    You wrote: “If you want to create professional looking or custom menus you will need to import the DVD into your PC for re-authoring.”

    Please explain how, what PC tools (free) and methods do you recommend?

    I have a Philips DVDR 3390-37. By recording off my TiVo, I can save stuff to DVD. (The DirecTV model TiVo has no ethernet capability to transfer to PC).

    I have tried Nero Recode on the PC, but it will not recognize DVDs made by the Philips DVDR. They all seem to play ok on my computer, though. Maybe there is something unusual about the DVD file format used by Philips?

    Help?

    Ideally I want to grab stuff off TiVo, transfer to DVD using my DVDR, edit the video clips on my PC, then save for an iPod.

    A tutorial sure would be nice… one for each step… you have the iPod covered already… need to find a way to edit the DVDR-burned DVD content…

  2. webmaster said,

    July 31, 2007 @ 9:49 am

    I haven’t tried to use just “free” tools since I was making VCD’s years ago. Don’t get me wrong, I still like to use as many free tools as possible.

    There’s a couple of ways to do this. I record TV shows on my DVD recorder and then bring the DVD to my computer. I import it into Ulead DVD Moviefactory ($49). Moviefactory let’s you do basic editing and multi-trim your clips. It also has a commercial zapper to remove commercials. I haven’t used that feature so I can’t comment on how that works.

    The problem with Moviefactory is that it only saves in DVD format. Most IPOD conversion software works on mpeg, avi or mov files.

    After you’re done editing the clips save the DVD folders on your hard drive and then use a tool like “Videora iPod Converter” to convert to the Ipod. I’m pretty sure Videora can read VOB files.

  3. webmaster said,

    August 1, 2007 @ 9:52 pm

    I also forgot to mention I uses RW DVD’s. I seem to have better luck with +RW. There are also certain brands that work better than others. Sometimes there are problems on the DVDR end and sometimes it’s on my computer end. I think I have had luck with Maxell RW DVD +R. It doesn’t mean it will work for your combo though. I just went to Walmart a couple times and bought different 3 packs.

  4. Chris said,

    March 10, 2008 @ 2:45 pm

    Honestly, I really haven’t got the patience to get the stuff I need, plug it all in, spend the 6-8 hours doing it, etc. I’d rather just send my videos to somebody who can convert vhs to dvd for me, so at least I can be sure my kid’s nativity play will have the singing aligned with the video. Plus, I only have 3 or 4 tapes anyway, so what’s the point in me buying all the stuff for myself?

  5. steven said,

    June 13, 2008 @ 4:38 pm

    I found this really cool site to Convert VHS to DVD!!!! Here is the link: http://www.orb24.com/conversionservice.php

  6. Jonathan said,

    July 1, 2008 @ 12:32 pm

    I found this great web site with superior service… check it out

    http://www.TransferThisToThat.com

  7. Terrell said,

    October 2, 2008 @ 11:42 am

    I’m using a dazzle pinnacle dvd recorder on a external dvd drive. I can save the video to a folder, but when I try to pull it up on media player, it says it’s not compatible. What else can I try?

  8. Mario said,

    January 27, 2010 @ 11:42 pm

    When useing the digital video camera pass through method, do you actually record the image onto a tape or does it literally just pass through the camera? I was searching on ebay recently and came across one that does not have a functioning tape deck but the rest of the camera features work just fine, would this work for the purpose of converting analog to digital?

RSS feed for comments on this post · TrackBack URI

Leave a Comment